Herpes Viruses
Herpes viruses cause a number of different diseases each described in more detail below: herpes simplex one and two cause cold sores and the ulcers of genital herpes, herpes zoster causes chickenpox which recurs in later years as shingles, the Epstein Barr virus causes glandular fever, which is also known as infectious mononucleosis, and is associated with development of a lymphoma (a cancer of lymphoid tissue) in those with defective immunity; cytomegalovirus causes low-grade fever and swollen glands which closely resembles infectious mononucleosis, and human herpes viruses six and seven cause the childhood disease roseola Infantum, described in the paediatric section. All the herpes viruses have in common the features of latency and recurrence - they are infections that are with us for life and which recur at times when our immunity is at a low ebb (with the exception of roseola Infantum). They are all spread by droplet inhalation or by secretion, often without symptoms of disease in the person doing the spreading. Some herpes viruses are susceptible to treatment with agents such as Acyclovir provided it is started in the early stages of the disease.
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